crim lecture 10 - anomie/strain theories

what did emilie durkheim come up with

• anomie, mechanical vs. organic societies, crime is normal, collective conscience

• anomie was foundation for strain theory and control theory

who came up with anomie

emilie durkheim

emilie durkheim (1858-1917) overview (no details)

• aftermath of french revolution, rapid industrialization, traditional ways of life breaking down, new form of society emerging

• key contribution to sociology - study of social solidarity aka how societies maintain cohesion and what binds individuals together

• two types of societies - mechanical and organic (most are on a spectrum between the two)

• crime is normal - one of his most famous ideas

• anomie - breakdown of social norms

• in Le Suicide, linked anomie to feelings of isolation and purposelessness in a rapidly changing society

• ideas about anomie and crime laid foundation for:

  • strain theory - people turn to crime when society fails to provide them with legit means to achieve goals

  • control theory - crime when individuals lack strong social ties or committments to conventional norms and values

mechanical vs organic societies

• emilie durkheim

• mechanical - primitive, small-scale

  • individuals share similar roles, values, and beliefs

  • little division of labor

  • solidarity comes from sameness

  • law is repressive - punishes those who deviate from uniform norms to maintain order

• organic - modern and complex

  • social cohesion from the diversity of roles

  • different groups that specialize in different tasks depend on each other

  • laws about regulation and restitution

    • managing relationship between different parts of society

• durkheim said most societies are somewhere along a spectrum between mechanical and organic

“crime is normal”

• emilie durkheim

• in a mechanical society, crime serves a purpose by showing what behaviors society will not tolerate

• as societies move toward organic, they can experience a state of anomie - breakdown of social norms

• anomie can lead to confusion, uncertainty, and more prevalent crime

collective conscience and crime

• durkheim

• shared values and beliefs of a society

• mechanical societies - pressure to conform to shared values

  • moral disapproval or criminal punishment

• crime happens when people deviate from collective conscience

  • no society can’t be perfectly uniform

• but crime isn’t a bad thing that we should be eliminating

why crime good ?!?!?

• durkheim

• crime (punishment) reinforces social norms

  • punishment is less about deterrence or retribution, but more about maintaining social solidarity

  • more like general deterrence as opposed to specific deterrence

• existence of criminals helps the rest of society feel morally superior

  • societies define behaviors as criminal to mark boundaries between good and bad

  • punishing criminals reaffirms good values, can strengthen social cohesion

• crime is necessary for progress and is a sign of a healthy society

  • if no one ever deviated from collective conscience, no room for social change

  • society with no crime overly controlled, no room for individual freedom

  • crime reflects diversity of human behavior

• discussion:

  • things were illegal 50 years ago and legal now

  • but at a certain point crime becomes a symbol of a dysfunctional society

  • crime as activism - acting as checks and balances, saying we should reevaluate what is criminal

anomie and when it happens

• durkheim

• in organic societies, interdependence requires proper regulation to maintain harmony

• anomie aka normlessness occurs when the regulation breaks down

  • individuals don’t know what is expected of them or how to achieve fulfillment

• anomie especially when rapid social change

  • traditional norms break down, new ones not established yet

  • economic expansion - no clear regulation, feel lost with new possibilities

  • economic depression - thrust in lower social positions, identity and place in society lost, forced to limit desires, feelings of frustration and hopelessness

le suicide (1897)

• durkheim observed that suicide rates increased not only in times of economic decline but also economic prosperity

• both situations cause rapid social change, disrupting society’s stability to regulate desires and expectations

what did robert k merton talk about

• anomie in american society, cultural goals vs institutionalized means, five adaptations

who thought of anomie in american society and 5 adaptations with cultural goals and institutionalized means

robert k merton

robert k merton overview

• anomie in american society

• pressure to achieve success (particularly monetary) but not everyone has access to legitimate socially approved means

• strain from disparity between cultural expectations and social realities

• cultural goals vs. institutionalized means

  • anomie from disconnection between the two

• five adaptations: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion

cultural goals (CG) vs institutionalized means (IM) and anomie

• merton

• cultural goals - what society expects people to strive for

  • pursuit of wealth

  • wealth seen as marker of personal worth and social status

• institutionalized means - socially approved ways to achieve

  • hard work, education, honesty, deferred gratification

• anomie when disconnection between the two - people don’t have the same opportunities to achieve success

• anomie (normlessness) - rules about how to achieve success become weakened or irrelevant

  • people experiencing the strain may result to nonconformist or deviant behaviors to achieve culturall imposed goal of wealth

merton’s 5 adaptations (just name them)

• conformity

• innovation

• ritualism

• retreatism

• rebellion

conformity

• accepts CG and IM

• striving for wealth through hard work, education, and legit efforts, even if it fails

• most common form of adaptation in stable societies

innovation

• accept CG, reject IM

• devise new, often illegal ways for success

• white-collar crime (fraud), working-class crime (robbery, drug dealing)

• very common deviant behavior because it reflects society’s overemphasis on success

ritualism

• reject CG, accept IM

• given up on achieving wealth, but continue following societal norms and work hard

• often in middle class when individuals want to play safe and not lose what they have

retreatism

• reject CG, reject IM

• drop out of society and society’s expectations

• substance abuse, homelessness

rebellion

• reject and replace CG and IM

• not addicted to drugs or homeless

• advocating for new social order, cultural revolution, spiritual awakening

• reject pursuit of wealth but propose alternative values

how does merton’s theory explain crime in american society

• cultural imbalance between strong emphasis on achieving success and weaker emphasis on how to achieve success

• people pressured to achieve wealth at all costs, even if violating social norms

• social structure explains why crime is more concentrated in lower classes

merton’s model of strain

• pressure to achieve wealth in american society + unequal distribution of legit opportunities = adaptation (possibly deviance and crime)

• macro level: success goals + deficient means → strain → adaptation (possibly crime)

• success goals emphasized for everyone, but means vary by location in society

• adaptations occur depending on level of anomie

how other scholars expanded on merton’s work

• richard cloward - individuals in lower-class neighborhoods often have access to illegit means, like criminal networks

• albert cohen and cloward and ohlin - how young males from lower-class background adapt to strain through deviant subcultures

• discussion: social media is changing our perception of success

what did albert cohen think of

middle-class measuring rod (lower class delinquency bc fail to achieve middle class standards)

who came up with middle class measuring rod

albert cohen

albert cohen (1955) overview

• builds on merton’s ideas but focuses on status rather than wealth

  • adult crimes have clear purpose (e.g. money or goods)

  • but youths engage in vandalism, theft they don’t need, unprovoked violence - because they seek status

• competition for status in schools - middle-class institutions, values, norms

• middle-class measuring rod - how middle class values are used to measure success of all students

• lower class youth unable to meet standards → frustration, failure

  • also lack social skills

  • conform or rebel? conform to middle-class values and accept lower position, or rebel and find status in different ways (e.g. toughness, recklessness)

• formation of delinquent gang - separate set of values that directly opposes middle-class norms

  • behaviors menat to reject middle-class values and establish new system of values that gives gang members power and status

merton vs cohen

• merton focuses on innovation as a way to achieve wealth

• cohen shows much of juvenile crime is not about wealth, rather about rebelling against middle-class norms and gaining status

• delinquency disproportionately affects lower-class youth - more failure in middle-class school system

  • parents with lower-class occupations may teach them different values before they even enter school

what did richard cloward and lloyd ohlin research

3 different gang subcultures (typology of gangs)

who talked about 3 different gang subcultures (typology of gangs)

richard cloward and lloyd ohlin

cloward and ohlin overview

• why do certain groups of young people engage in certain delinquent behavior? unequal opportunity to achieve goals

• different types of gang subcultures emerge based on availability of legitimate and illegitimate opportunities in a community

  • argued that merten didn’t fully consider this

  • no legitimate means does not automatically mean they have access to illegitimate means

• used shaw and mckay’s social disorganization theory - crime linked to breakdown of social institutions

• also social differentiation theory - criminal behavior is learned like other behaviors

• identified 3 main subcultures - criminal, conflict, and retreatist

• it’s not just the lack of legitimate opportunity that leads to delinquency, but also the type of illegitimate opportunities available

• environment plays a crucial role

3 main gang subcultures

• criminal subculture - serious delinquents not concerned with middle-class status, motivated by economic success

  • similar to merten’s innovation adaptation

  • neighborhoods with established networks of adult criminals - teach youth crime skills

  • young person who can’t achieve success legitimately might join gang

• conflict subculture - acting out against society through malicious/violent acts

  • aligns with non-utilitarian delinquency described by cohen

  • areas with less established criminal networks

  • turn to violence to gain respect - gang with turf wars or fights

  • lacking legit & illegit means, so violence becomes the outlet

• retreatist subculture - give up on pursuit of success, drop out of society, turn to substance abuse

  • failure in both legit & illegit means, given up

policy implications of anomie/strain theories (2 specific programs)

• suggest that crime occurs when individuals, particularly from lower social class backgrounds, don’t have opportunities to achieve success via legitimate means

• juvenile delinquency prevention & control act of 1961

  • focus on social structures that contribute to delinquency

  • robert kennedy was a fan of cloward and ohlin

  • comprehensive action program - improving education, creating work opportunities, community organization, services for individuals and families

    • access to education for lower-class youth

    • job training for disadvantaged communities

  • very significant actions - federal effort to combat youth crime

• lyndon johnson’s war on poverty

  • aimed to tackle poverty and crime on a national scale

  • addressing root causes of social inequality

  • spent billions of dollars to programs to uplift lower-class communities, improve access to education and employment

  • very ambitious goal

• policies faced massive political resistance

  • people opposed to idea of extending resource and opportunities to lower-class individuals

• policies dismantled under nixon

  • never reached full potential

  • political opposition was one major reason for the programs’ failure

who came up with general strain theory

robert agnew

what did robert agnew come up with

general strain theory

general strain theory overview

• 3 main sources of strain:

  • failure to achieve goals

  • removal of positive stimuli

  • presence of negative stimuli

• strain generates negative emotions, which leads to seeking coping mechanisms

  • cognitive coping

  • behavioral coping

  • emotional coping

• strain can lead to delinquency and crime

3 main sources of strain + details

• failure to achieve goals

  • not just monetary, but any valued goals

  • strain from discrepancy between expectations and achievements, or what individuals see as fair outcomes and what they actually receive

  • e.g. wants to be lawyer but can’t get into law school, wants promotion but can’t get it

• removal of positive valued simuli

  • breakup, loss of parents

• presence of negative stimuli

  • exposure to harmful conditions, abuse, neglect, bullying, harsh discipline

  • adolescents particularly vulnerable to this because they can lack the opportunity to escape from negative environments

strain → negative emotions and coping mechanisms

• healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms

  • skipping school, vandalism, drug use, fighting

• cognitive coping - changing the way you think about the strain to make it less distressing

  • downplay importance of failures, reframe experiences

  • cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) - therapist helps you reframe certain thoughts (e.g. you think everyone hates you, the therapist says is that a fact or a thought)

  • young people prone to delinquency might think theyre not smart enough to get a job → challenge these thoughts to achieve better self

• behavioral coping - take action to reduce strain

  • try to escape strain, run away from home, skip school

  • retaliate against source, sometimes through delinquent behavior

• emotional coping - e.g. substance abuse to numb pain, delinquent acts for temporary relief

• healthy coping mechanisms: exercising, hobbies

• unhealthy coping mechanisms: delinquency, criminal acts

takeaways of GST

• focuses heavily on delinquents and coping mechanisms

• research supports agnew’s arguments that negative relationships and stressful life events can be linked to various forms of delinquency